Daily Archives: 17/04/2014

A couple of days ago the Guardian covered the news story regarding the publishing of the 2014 Global Drug Survey (GDS) and you can read the full article here. The title of this blog post is taken from the Independent’s coverage of the survey which also said that ‘one in three dependent drinkers in the UK thinks they consume less than the average amount’.

The 2014 GDS questioned almost 80,000 drug users from 43 countries, and is the largest research of its kin. It found that alcohol was the most common drug taken, followed by tobacco and cannabis.

Winstock described the extent of alcohol abuse in the UK as “very worrying”. “Many countries are clueless about alcohol, but the UK and Ireland are the most clueless, ” he said. “People just have no idea when they are drinking at very dangerous levels.” According to the survey, 60% of respondents demonstrated a medium, high or dependent level of alcohol problems. Just below 15% said they could not stop drinking once they had started at least monthly , while 17% reported feelings of guilt or regret after drinking at least monthly over the last year. Of the 7% who demonstrated dependency levels, only 39% recognised their drinking was dangerous, while 34.5% thought they drank an average or below-average amount.

John, whose answers suggested “dependency” or a high level of alcohol problems, said he didn’t feel his drinking had much of an impact on his life. “It’s just part of the culture,” the 40-year-old PR manager said. He described various drinking mishaps, including seeing his ex-boss try to have a fight with a double-decker bus. “You drink with clients and there are events with free alcohol almost every night. Drink, drink, drink – it’s just normal.”After looking at his consumption on the GDS drinksmeter, he said the results were “terrifying”, adding: “Maybe I need to calm down.”

If you would like anonymous, personalised feedback on your drinking then go to http://www.drinksmeter.com/. The drinks meter app provides you with instant feedback on your drinking. It compares your drinking against the Drinks Meter community to give unbiased, anonymous feedback.